Handcuffs and Stethoscopes
by hmassie347
Summary: It's five years after Edward has left Bella and she has settled into a career and a steady life. What happens when Carlisle comes back into the picture? Rated M for future content and language.
1. Bigger Things

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters nor the world created by Stephenie Meyer.

That second hand on the clock seemed to drag on sometimes. It was like a slow metronome that could lull her to sleep at any moment. And it was always the slowest between two and three. Always. It was like torture. You look down, fiddle with something, look up and not even a minute had passed. She took a deep breath and looked back at the monitors checking for movement, activity, but there was none, because it was 2:16 and that meant all movement had ceased.

"Miss Swan!" She jumped and looked out the window of her own personal cage. There stood Sergeant Master with Officer Allen. "Let us in. Officer Allen will be relieving you. You're going out. 911." Bella stood up and buzzed open the two doors to let them in. It was always things like this that go her heart racing fueled by the chance to do more. Get out of the building and do something different from staring at the same four walls.

She straightened up her uniform and packed up the bottle of water she'd been sipping on and the apple slices she'd been snacking on. Officer Allen counted the keys and equipment and signed off on her all her logs. "You're all set Swan." And the sound of the door being buzzed open had her running out with her sergeant on her heels. She became impatient waiting one doors to be opened by unseen operators and sighed in frustration.

"Calm down Swan. The ambulance isn't here yet. You've got time and you've to wait on your partner." She looked up at Masters and rolled her eyes skyward. If anyone knew how much this meant to her it was the woman standing next to her. In the field of Corrections, women had it just a little harder. They were viewed as softer until they proved themselves and it took Bella a year and three months to do it.

"I just don't want to miss out on this chance to prove that they should send me out more often. Why even put a certified officer in a booth and a non-certified officer on patrol?" It was one of the complex things that got her at the prison. If you needed certified staff, why trap them in a box then have to get someone to relieve them to go out on things like this.

"If I recall correctly you used to be the non-certified officer on patrol while some poor certified officer sat in those control stations." And while the older woman had a very valid point, it still seemed unfair somehow to her. Maybe because those days of patrol seemed far and few between at times. Booth. Booth. Booth. There was a name for officer's trapped there day in and day out. Booth Bitches.

They finally arrived to master control and when the last door finally buzzed open she walked in and smiled at Lieutenant Townson. "Officer Swan reporting for duty, sir!" She winked at him as sergeant Masters rolled her eyes and walked to the weapons case. "So, where am I going?" She sat on the counter top next to Officer Denver who was engrossed in editing her narrative of the day.

"You and Officer Herrington will be going to Washington Memorial Hospital." The lieutenant handed her a copy of the information on the inmate and a set of car keys attached to a clipboard. "He should be here any moment, go ahead and get your things on." She hopped off the counter and took the handgun, extra magazine, and pepper foam from sergeant Masters sliding them on to her utility belt. She was so glad that Charlie had bought it for her after her graduation ceremony a few months back. It kept the weight of everything from pulling her pants down her hips.

The sound of the door buzzing caused her to look up from the sheet of paper in her hand and she gave Herrington a little wink. "You think you can handle the ambulance?" Because she was going to drive the chase car.

"Really Swan?" It was almost as if he was truly upset that she intended to drive. "I know how much you like those EMT's. I think you would be a fantastic fit in the back of the ambulance." He laughed as he grabbed his own equipment and got ready. "But if I must, I guess I'll do it."

"Thank you!" And with that she swung her bag over her shoulder. "Meet you out front! Going out!" And the door buzzed allowing her to leave and hunt down their car. When found she did a quick search to make sure it was empty of anything that shouldn't be there and then documented. Amount of gas. Miles on the car. Time. Date. Reason. Location. Driver. Check. Check. Check. She picked up her partner in crime and they met up with the EMT's just as they pulled into receiving.

"He's complaining of chest pains and has a fever. He's 32 and diabetic receiving dialysis. We gave him two aspirin and his insulin. He had some trouble breathing." The doctors her weren't the best, but they were what the state could afford. In a matter of minutes, the EMT's had the guy on the stretcher and into the ambulance and they were on their way to the hospital, her following close behind in the car. This was what she loved doing, and Bella Swan couldn't think of doing anything else.


	2. Back to Normal

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters nor the world created by Stephenie Meyer.

The clock in his office seemed to tick slower than normal. It was almost like time was just trying to standstill. It didn't matter much, considering he had all the time in the world, but he would much rather just go home and sit behind the desk there. Maybe it was just an off day. Maybe it was an off month. He had just moved back without his family. Him and Esme….Esme. It was heartbreaking really but to think about it here would cause too many questions about broken furniture. He didn't have to come back alone, Alice and Jasper had offered but he shook his head. He didn't want to ruin anybody's happiness with his own despair.

"Dr. Cullen?" It was the timid voice of Alicia at his door. He smiled at her and gestured for her to come in. "We have a new case for you. 32 year old male complaining of chest pains and having troubles breathing. He's has a fever and is diabetic receiving dialysis three times a week." She extended a file to him to look over.

Carlisle looked over the file and raised an eyebrow in question. "CBC?"

"It's a Correctional facility sir. He's an inmate. The doctors take turns at taking their cases and this one just happens to be your turn." She looked a little nervous like he'd throw the file at her and tell her to find someone else to deal with it. Maybe it's happened before. 

"Thank you Alicia. Where are they now?" He stood up and grabbed his coat and the file, hanging his stethoscope around his neck.

"ER room 14. Knock first. The guards are armed." He started to walk down the hall. "OH! And Dr. Cullen," Alicia called after him, "The handcuffs and leg cuffs are protocol for them."

He faltered in his steps a moment but nodded. "Thank you Alicia."

He missed working in the local hospital, but it caused to too many questions. Some. That he didn't have answers for. Here, however, he felt a little freer and not as pestered. It wasn't a bad thing to be a doctor in a small town, but here, he was just another face. He knocked on the door of the room, one of very few which actually had a door and not curtains.

"Come in," a man's voice called.

As soon as he opened the door a very familiar sent caught his nose. Sweet and calming. Almost like a garden of flowers. He looked around in search for the person that he associated with it but she was nowhere to be found. He looked at the guard and then at Mr. Crandol. He right wrist was chained to the bed and as was his left leg. Ah, that's what Alicia was saying. He smiled and nodded to the man in the bed.

"Hello, I'm going to be your doctor while you're here. How are you feeling?" He pulled out a sanicloth and cleaned off his stethoscope.

"My chest still hurts, but it's not too bad," the man wheezed. Even without the stethoscope Carlisle could hear the fluid that had built up in the man's lungs. He still walked forwards either way.

"Can I take a listen?" The guy nodded yes and Carlisle made a show of listening with the device. Yes, there was definitely fluid buildup. And his heart had some slight arrhythmia. He nodded and stepped back. "Well, Mr. Crandol, what I'd like to do is get a chest x-ray. It sounds like you have some fluid in there. Not much, but I want to be sure. Then I want to get you downstairs to get you a stress test. The man nodded and he gave him a small smile. He turned to the guard. "Transport will be here shortly to get you guys." 

"Could you wait a couple minutes before putting in for transport? I'm waiting on my partner to come back. She went to get a bite to eat and a couple sodas." He stood, angled away from both him and the guy in the bed, probably keeping the gun out of reach.

"Of course." He smiled. "I'll be at the nurses' station. Send her there to let me know that we're good to move forward." And with that he walked out the room. The floral scent tickled him again, but it couldn't possibly be her. Bella was a chronic klutz. Working in a prison would be a dangerous thing for her.


	3. Why?

She had missed the lunch menu and had been forty-five minutes too early for the diner selections. It was sorta typical of her luck. She nibbled on a couple pieces of pizza, which was always being served, and choked down a cola. Caffeine buzz going, stomach full, candy in hand, Bella headed back to the room. She heard Officer Herrington laughing through the door at something the inmate had said and she knocked.

"I'm back!" She tossed the bag of treats to her coworker and picked up the log. "No doctor yet?"

"Sorry," Herrington said around a mouth full of gummy worms. He swallowed and ran a hand through his brown hair. "I forgot to write it down. I didn't even get the doc's name. He said to come to the nurse's station when you get back so we can go for a stress test and then someone is going to come by and take an x-ray."

She rolled her eye and sighed as if it really was frustrating her to pick up his slack. "And this, Herrington, is why I drove." She winked at him and walked out of the room looking for the nearest nursing station. It was just around the corner and when she walked up she saw a tall blond figure quietly whispering with the nurse in the back next to what looked like a cooler for of medicine. They seemed engaged in the conversation and she hated to be rude, but the sooner they figured out if the guy was getting admitted the better.

"Excuse me?" She asked softly and when the two turned around she felt her heart drop. Was she asleep in her control station dreaming? It seemed real enough. Or maybe she was just hallucinating that the man was here. He looked calm and collected as he smiled at her. Carlisle Cullen. He was here. Were the others? Edward? She turned felt caught off guard, which these days was unusual.

"Yes," the nurse asked drawing her focus back on the task at hand.

"Ummm, I was looking for the doctor who is taking care of room 14?" She fidgeted a bit and shift her weight feeling the gun rub up against her arm. All of a sudden she felt uncomfortable being in the eye of the public with all this stuff on her hips.

"That would be me." Carlisle walked forward and shook her hand as if they were meeting for the first time. "Dr. Cullen."

"Officer Swan," She said nodding. "Ummm…we're ready for transport."

"Yes, of course." He turned back to the nurse and smiled. "Felicia could you call transport for Mr. Crandol. He's got a stress test and then when they get back notify radiology that I need an x-ray done on his chest." He turned back to Bella and tilted his head to the left. "It'll take a few minutes for transport, could we have a word in private for a moment?"

She hesitated and then nodded. "Let me just notify Officer Herrington first." She walked back to the room and popped her head in the door. "Transport is on its way. Dr. Cullen would like to speak with me before we head down. I'll be back." He mumbled something around another mouthful of gummy worms and she rolled her eyes in his direction. She closed the door and turned around and there stood Carlisle eyes all golden and a smile that could break hearts. "Shall we?"

"We shall," he said turning and leading her down a few halls and into a cozy office. It almost reflected the one back at their house in Forks. The one where she had last seen him before they left as he stitched up her arm from the disastrous birthday party. He closed the door behind them and she took a seat up on the desk itself.

"So, Carlisle. You're back." He just nodded, leaning against the door. His silence frustrated her and she sucked in a deep breath of air. "Why?"


	4. Conversation Interrupted

It was really her. Here. In the hospital. In uniform. He had thought it was all in his head. The smell even when it was stronger and more pronounced at the nurse's station. He thought he'd lost his mind for a moment, but it was really Bella. She had aged some. Her hair was longer. Her skin darker by a shade or two. She looked amazing and well put together. As she sat on his desk demanding an answer he didn't know what to say to her just yet, there was so much to talk about.

"Bella, I…" He moved forward and she shifted a bit in her spot angling the gun away from him. He chuckled a bit because he knew that she knew if he wanted to harm her he could without it.

"What?!" She looked angry as he laughed at her. Obviously this was something serious and upsetting. He could see the worry lines forming between her eyes.

"Sorry. You're just so well adjusted to your job position. He couldn't help but laugh. Forgive me." She just stared at him and waited in silence for the answer to her question. He took a deep breath. "I'm back because I wanted to come back. I wanted to get back into the swing of things." Back into the swing of life and not sulking all day every day.

"Is it just you? Are the others-" He could tell she was trying hard to feign disinterest but tears had started to build up and he could see how much it hurt her to be in here with him. To have her past stare her in the face when she was probably doing really well on her own without them there as a constant reminder.

"It's just me Bella." He stepped up to her and wiped away the first tear that fell. "I am so sorry. I didn't think I'd run into you here at this hospital or anywhere else. I thought that if I gave you and Forks enough room I'd-" His pager went off and he looked down at it. The transport had arrived and she needed to get back to her job. He handed her a tissue and said. "We have so much to talk about, if you want."

She pushed the hand away and refused to look him, probably afraid that he'd think she was weak being caught crying while on duty. "Okay," she said, her voice raspy. "I still live at Charlie's. You can meet me there. Tonight. After 8:30." She looked at the box of tissues on his desk. "And bring a big box of these. A lot happens in five years."

He nodded and took her hand to help her off his desk. He pulled her in close without thinking about it and hugged her softly. "I'm so sorry, Bella." He felt her shake a little and was afraid to let go, but they both had jobs to do. "8:30." He pulled away and opened the door.

She took a deep breath and headed out, before she walked through the door she turned around gave him a look that he couldn't describe and said, "I'd rather it be you that came back anyway." And she disappeared down the hall.

Carlisle shut the door and reached for the nearest object tossing it against the wall. Of all people that had been hurt because of that mess seeing Bella like that made him forget his own broken heart. She should've never been subjected to that. He passed back and forth in his office and then finally sat down. He would see her tonight and find out just how much had happened in the five years they'd been gone and he'd try to make it up to her in any way possible. He looked back through a couple more files when his pager when off again.

The x-ray and the stress test showed exactly what he had suspected and he made calls to admitting to make sure that they kept Mr. Crandol. They would drain the fluid from his lungs tomorrow and send him to dialysis the next day and start him on some medications to treat his arrhythmia. Maybe they could shock his heart back into rhythm. He turned off the computer around eight and packed up his things. On the way to Bella's her grabbed a box of tissues as requested and a bottle of Pink Moscato. He couldn't drink it, but she looked like she could use a glass or two. When he pulled up he noticed something different and realized that she no longer drove the big red truck and that the police cruiser Charlie drove wasn't there.

He knocked and heard her running down the steps. As she opened the door she looked like she just got out the shower. "Am I early or…"

"No, I got relieved late. Come in." She moved aside and when he walked in he noticed the way the house smelled solely of her. Not a hint of Charlie anywhere.

"Tissues and wine." He handed them to her and she walked to the kitchen without saying a word. He followed and took a seat at the kitchen table and watched as she poured herself a glass. "Bella, where's Charlie?"

She brought her glass, the bottle, and the tissues with her. Sitting down across from him she gave him a sad smile. "Like I said, a lot happens in five years."


	5. The Breakdown

Bella took a sip of the wine she had poured herself and looked at her folded hands on the table. How was she supposed to start this conversation? She didn't actually think that Carlisle was going to show up. Now she had to sit here and open up all sorts of closed or healing wounds and pour a whole container of salt on them.

"Let's start with something easier," she said, not looking up.

"Okay," he said softly. "How was your senior year?"

Her head snapped up and she stared him down. "How is that any easier to discuss?" Maybe it didn't really matter where they started. Nothing good came out of it in the end. "I _hated_ my senior year! I spent half of it crying myself to sleep. Crying myself awake. Crying into food. In the shower. As I drove. At work. I couldn't stop crying." She took a deep breath. "And I spent the other half trying to fix the relationships I damaged when you guys left. The one between me and my mother. Me and Jacob. Me and _Charlie_!" She took another deep breath and brought her voice level down reminding herself that yelling didn't change anything. "And right in the middle of it all, was a murderous vampire trying to _kill me_."

"Victoria," was all he said.

"If it wasn't for Jacob, I'd be dead." A small part of her hoped that he felt guilty. That they _all_ felt guilty. "It was like I had been shoved from the sun into complete darkness when you guys left and I didn't know how to handle it."

He finally looked up at her. "Bella, I am so sorry. I never…. _we_ never meant for any of this to happen. Alice never saw anything like that. She stopped looking for your future after we left at the request of Edward." He looked like she was dragging him through hell. "I am so sorry."

She heaved a sigh and rolled my eyes. "It's whatever." She played with her glass of wine and took a sip of it. She had to move on with the story. "I managed to graduate though, with honors, and when Charlie asked me what I planned on doing," she shrugged, "I decided to go to college. I went in for a criminal justice degree so that I could feel like I could protect myself. I spent a year of my life being protected by others and after Victoria was taken care of I decided that I needed to go into a field that would force me to protect myself."

She took another sip of wine and grabbed a couple tissues balling them up in her fist trying to distract herself from the tears that would fall. "It was the greatest three years of my life. I created a support system of new friends and rebuilt myself. I had managed to push you guys from my mind and found a side of myself I had never seen. I didn't know exactly what I was doing degree wise other than criminal justice and had started with a fine arts degree, but after a year I focused my major and received a more specific degree to what I wanted to do. Then I was given a great chance to work in the prison system." She took a deep breath in and kept her eyes on the bits of tissues in front of her. Every time she thought about this moment she would break down. "Charlie was so proud that I had decided to follow his career path. That I was doing something somewhat similar to him."

She looked up at Carlisle and felt the tears falling. "I got the job and passed my basic training class. One of his proudest moments he kept calling it." She took a deep breath trying to quell the sobs that wanted to rip through her chest. "Then three days later he was shot and killed point blank range by a man who was robbing the gas station. There was nothing they could have down to save him. I got the phone call from my lieutenant who allowed me to leave early and head up to the hospital."

Bella didn't even hear his chair move, but before she knew what was happening Carlisle had moved them to the couch in the living room and wrapped her up in her arms as the shaking began. It had been a year and three months since his passing and it still hurt. They say time heals all wounds but these just couldn't seem to scab over. "I had just talked to him that morning," she choked out around the tears. "We had gotten into routine of getting dressed together, having breakfast and a cup of coffee. Walking out the front door at the same time." T the sobs wracked through her body shake her violently. "We started a set ritual and before getting into our cars we'd tell each other to be safe and that we loved one another and that we'd be home for dinner." She was kind of screaming the words through her tears and felt her heart breaking all over the place. "That night I came home from the hospital and looked around the house, at the dirty dishes from the morning, the chairs at the table still pulled out from where we had sat that morning, and I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. He was finally opening up to me…and I lost him."

They had always known that one day one of them could be hurt on the job but she had never imagined she would lose him so fast. The holidays broke her to pieces and their birthdays usually caused her to stay in bed all day unless she had to work. She stopped talking and just let herself cry into Carlisle's chest as her held her and rubbed soothing circles on her back.

Bella wasn't sure how long they stayed there. Could've been minutes or maybe hours, but when she felt like she could handle herself, she pulled away. She felt him watching her as she wiped up the last of her tears and she pulled her knees to her chest. "Sorry," she said softly.


	6. Weekend Plans

Carlisle looked at Bella all balled up and puffy. She was really going to apologize for being human? "Why exactly are you sorry?"

She huffed a huge sigh and shrugged. "I normally don't go off like that in front of other people. I prefer to leave it all behind closed doors. If I let it go like that at work I can only imagine the field day that the coworkers would have, not to mention the inmates." She closed her eyes. "It's getting easier though, you know, hiding it. "

He just stared at her as she sat there probably mentally collecting herself which allowed him time to do the same. So much had happened in five years like she had said. So much had changed, and that he could tell when he first saw her earlier that afternoon, but the emotional scars ran so deep and he couldn't help but wonder just how often she let herself cry these days. Maybe she had enough of the tears and she didn't have the strength to keep letting them fall.

He moved closer to her and placed a hand on her folded up arms. "If it helps, I can leave. Claim I have an emergency or something to attend to elsewhere." He didn't want to be another reason for the tears. He didn't ever want her to think his name and fall to pieces like this.

She sighed and looked at him, "It wouldn't change anything, Carlisle. Like I said, out of all the Cullen's I'd rather it be you that came back." She gave him a small hesitant smile. "You are the only one back, right?"

He could see the fear behind her eyes and gave her the most reassuring smile he could. "Yes, it's just me." Something bothered him though about her statement. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you rather it be me?"

She wiggled around uncomfortably for a second then rolled her eyes. "I guess because Alice was supposed to be my best friend, almost like a sister to me, and she abandoned me. The same with Emmett, he was like a brother to me. Sure, Jasper and I never talked, but we never had problems either and Rose, well she hated me. Then there's the _obvious_ reasons as to why I wouldn't really want to see Edward."

"Actually," he said frowning, "I'm not sure those reasons are as obvious as you think. You seem…well adjusted. Moved on in a sense."

Bella gave him a sad smile. "You never forget or completely get over your first love. Which brings us to Esme. She was like a mother to me. A woman I felt like I could come to when I needed something." Carlisle tried to read between the lines. Did that mean she had had a second love? She hadn't mentioned it. "Carlisle," she broke through his thoughts softly. He raised an eyebrow. "Why isn't Esme here? With you?"

It was his turn to sigh and shrug. "I guess that would be a very valid question to ask and truth be told, it's not a story that I'm ready to tell." It may seem rude and kind of a double standard to sit there and pull out all sorts of emotions from her wanting her story only to withhold his own, but he knew what would happen when he opened up and Bella was far too close. He didn't want to injure her in the rage that would consume him. "Maybe another day in a place not so…valuable." A place where he could toss stuff in the opposite direction of her. "That is if you're up for seeing me again?"

He watched as she pondered it running her finger over the finger where his wedding band had used to sit. It hadn't been there in a couple year, but what she said was true. You couldn't forget your first love and sometimes it still felt like the ring was resting there on that finger. "Yeah," she said softly, smiling. "I think we can work something out."

He smiled and looked at the clock on the wall. It was a little after midnight. "Do you have to work tomorrow?"

She shook her head, "I'm off the next two days but I'll be working Friday until Monday. They need help and the overtime does wonders for the paycheck. Then I'm off Tuesday, but I'll probably be busy all day that day doing the cleaning and laundry. So, really, my next free time is next weekend." Her schedule sounded insane to his own ears but she seemed to be used to the demanding hours.

"Well," he said standing up from the couch, "How about lunch next Friday? My place?" He heard her heartbeat pick up a bit and he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's a completely different house." That seemed to relax her and she nodded following him to the door. "Friday it is." He pulled her in for one more hug without thinking about it. "Night Bella."

"Good night, Carlisle." And he was in his car and on the interstate in minutes. He had so much to think about when he got home, and for the first time in a while, his thoughts weren't consumed by his ex-wife, but by the young woman with the brown eyes that held a broken soul.

A/N: I know, I know. I'm a horrible person for not divulging Carlisle's story just yet, but worry not you shall be given it. I also want to take this moment to thank all of you for continuing to stick around and read this. Please be advised that the next chapter though is going to show Bella's life as an Officer in the prison walls. The language may be vulgar as may the some of the things that she says to her coworkers. Once again, thanks for continuing to read.


	7. Working Hard

"Yeah mom, I know." Bella stood in her kitchen on her phone staring out the window at nothing in particular. Her mother was rambling on again, trying to guilt her into coming to see her, but in all honesty she preferred not to leave Forks and her mother knew that. "It's just between work and everything I-"

"Bella," her mother said cutting her off, "I understand that your job means a lot to you and honey bless your heart you work so hard, but don't you think that if your father were still around he'd tell you to at least save some time for yourself?"

Bella fell silent on the other end and continued to stare out at the yard. How was it every which was she turned Charlie seemed to be brought up. Someone at work had asked about him and it was all she could do to not breakdown and cry right there in the control station. She hadn't been back out to the hospital, but in her mind that was a good thing because she kept relaying that conversation with Carlisle over and over again in her mind and she wasn't really sure she wanted to see him again just yet.

"Mom I make time for myself, I promise I do, I just can't afford to take time off and fly out to see you and Phil." She looked back at the plastic containers in front of her holding her breakfast and lunch for the next day. Only two more to go before she had a day off. "Why don't you guys come here and visit. I have an extra….room." She felt like she was choking on some unshed tears and pushed it down. "Plus it's the middle of the summer, the heat there has to be horrible, you and Phil must be tired of being trapped in the house."

She heard her mother sigh on the other end of the line and she knew she had won this argument. "Fine Bella. Since you simply refuse to take time off Phil and I will come, but you have to promise that you won't work any overtime the week we come up."

She placed her work food in the fridge and rolled her eyes. "Fine, but you need to come up in two weeks. I have plans with my weekend this time round."

"Oh," her mother said, curiosity coloring her voice. "Who whom?"

"An old friend mom, don't worry about me," she said looking at the clock on the wall. "Look it's getting late here and I have to be up early tomorrow. I love you and tell Phil I said hi. We can determine which day you'll be here exactly so I can pick you guys up from the airport."

"Okay Bella. Be safe."

She took in a deep breath and said, "Always." They hung up and she looked back out the window one last time before closing the blinds. It was quiet and she was exhausted. Two more days. Two more days. It was her go to mantra for the weekend. Two more days and you can sleep in.

The next morning came faster than anticipated and she hit the snooze button on her alarm clock about five times before finally getting up. She jumped in the shower really quick, brushed her teeth, and put on her uniform. Once down in the kitchen she brewed a cup of coffee and put one single waffle in the toaster. Breakfast of champions. Once everything was packed and ready to go she was out the door into a rainy morning.

The drive was mind numbing and when she got there she was happy to see it had stopped raining long enough for her to make it into the building. "Morning Swan."

She smiled at the sergeant next to her, "Morning Sergeant Massie." If there was a sergeant more relaxed than her, Bella had yet to find her. "One more day!"

"You're working over tomorrow?"

They both worked their way through the metal detector and cell phone detector, grabbing their things out of the grey bins that carried them through a kind of x-ray machine. "Yeah, I really like to work on the other shift and it helps pad the paycheck."

"I remember those days. I miss it sometimes. My work ethic was what really set me above and beyond of the others." She gave Bella a knowing smile. "I really think-"

"Massie! Hey Massie! Massie!" They bother turn to the sound of Lieutenant Townson shouting across the room. "Massie! Massie! Hey Massie!"

She rolled her eyes and looked at Bella, "Go ahead. I'll get with you later." Bella smiled and headed on down the all but she could still here the sergeant say, "What the fuck you want now?" and his reply being that he only wanted to say hi. She knew those two had issues.

It was almost like being back in high school sometimes, working here. She wondered what Carlisle would really think about her working here and she checked out of line up mentally until her name was called. Yet again, she was inside the building, but at least she wasn't a booth bitch. However, a few hours later, Bella was wishing that she had been sentenced to a control station.

"Swan! Swan! Swan!" The inmates never seemed to want to stop calling her name when she had moments of freedom from her boxes, and it only took a couple hours for her temper to flare. "Hey Swan! Are we beefing?" The guy was just another face to her. There was a few that she remembered the names of, but those were the self-injurious ones that everyone knew the name of.

"Yeah, we're beefing. Now leave me the fuck alone!" She said walking away from him. "We'll continue to be 'beefing' until you learn to address me properly."

"Oh come on Swan!" She just kept walking, ignoring the guy the whole way down the tunnel. They were coming back from lunch and she had helped escort a group to and from their unit. This was the last one that had to be fed and they were the most annoying. Once they were back on the block she checked with the unit sergeant to see if they needed any help and that's when the call came out on the radio.

"All available, 2E! All available, 2E!" She took off running, the door of the unit already open and waiting for the help that came flying out of it and across to the adjacent unit. The control station officer let them on the block. There was an officer on the ground getting beat on by an inmate with his first, the handcuff still connected. She approached the guy from behind and reached out to catch his first as it swung back again trying to make sure it didn't connect with the officer again. The guy was in such a rage he didn't even realize that six other people had come on the block to stop him. She twisted his arm back and put him in a bent wrist which got his attention and he swung at her with his other free hand, colliding with her rib cage and knocking the wind out of her.

She huffed but pushed through the pain trying to regain control of the situation and pulling out her pepper spray. Two short bursts right to the eyes and the guy couldn't see. "You fucking cunt! You better fucking hope I don't find out where the fuck you live, because I'll kill you, you mother fucking bitch!" It was at that point that at least three more officers had decided to stop pussy footing around and make a grab for the guy slapping on another pair of cuffs. Bella fell back onto the floor taking in a deep breath and choking on the pepper spray in the air. Good gracious she forgot how much it burned.

"Swan, you oaky?"

She looked up at Officer Hinson and nodded. "Fine, just a little winded." And she coughed again. Oh, she wanted some water or something because this was painful.

"You need to get to the hospital, get your ribs checked out," he said bending down to help her up. The rest of the group had already dragged the inmate away and down the hall. She should really be following them but she coughed again and nodded.

"Fine," she said through another cough, "but I need to grab my things from downstairs." He nodded walking out with her.

"You know, that was very brave of you to make the first move. Most women just stand in the background."

She smiled around another cough. "Yeah, well, I didn't take the job to sit on the sidelines."

At least they didn't babysit her during her trip to the hospital. She took her own car and even though she just wanted to go home and fall asleep, she took her sore ass into the building to get checked. The put her in a curtain room and said the doctor would be with her in a moment. She fiddled with her keys and sighed impatiently which caused her to groan in pain.

"Well, Ms. Swan, they say you were beaten by one of your inmates."

Bella rolled her head to the side and rolled her eyes at Carlisle. "He through the first punch. I was just being a good coworker and trying to save another person."

He walked in and pulled the curtain closed nodding and she shook her head. "So let me guess, x-ray. Maybe an ultra sound. Oooh, can I order a dinner tray. I haven't eaten much today, or do you plan to send me to MRI, in which case I just ate so can I just go home until tomorrow?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "None of the above. I'm going to rely on my ears and my fingers." He took her keys from her and dropped them in his pocket. "You can have them back if you do as you're told." She nodded and sat there waiting for his first command. "Lie back and stay still." She did as he ordered and the he proceeded to press on her ribs one by one. She winced a bit but it wasn't anything too uncomfortable. "I don't hear any fractures or breaks. Don't feeling any excessive pooling of blood anywhere." He smiled and poked her in the side that didn't her and she let out a small laugh. "Yes, well, sit up, but slowly." She did as told and his fingers wound themselves in the stands of her hair feeling around on her scalp. "Does it hurt?"

"Not really. I don't recall hitting my head. I think it's more or less from the coughing."

He continued to rub around on her head and as he brushed the base of her skull she let out a small moan and then bit down on her lip, feeling her face get hot. Hopefully this was the end of the torture and she could go home. "I'll be right back," he said handing her keys back to her. "Wait here." When he did return he handed her two pieces of paper. "One is a prescription for a mild pain killer and the other is-"

"A doctors note?" She said staring him down.

"It's only two days off. Your ribs aren't broken and you don't have any major issues, but if something else were to happen again, then you could end up seriously injured." He looked almost as frustrated as she felt and she shook he head crumpling it up.

"Nope. I can't afford to miss work or take time off. It's just me at home paying the bills and taking care of things and unlike you I don't have a mass of wealth stacked up in multiple bank accounts." She tossed the note in the trash and shook her head. "Not going to happen."

Carlisle ran his hand through his hair in frustration and huffed. "Damn it Bella, why can't you just do this one things for me." Without waiting for a response he stormed out of her curtained room leaving her there in silence. It wasn't like him to get mad over anything and maybe that was what made her reach into the trash can to pull the doctors note back out. It was only two days. She'd be fine, right?


	8. Carlisle Unchained

A/N: So, I haven't put a disclaimer in a few chapter so this is here to remind you that the characters are not my own but belong to the lovely imagination of one AMAZING Stephenie Meyer. As does the world that I'm sort of basing my story in. Please continue reading an enjoying and thank you again so much for following and hitting the favorite button and all the wonderful comments. I wouldn't be still writing this if it wasn't for all your support. So without further hesitation….I give you Chapter 8!

After he had stormed out of the ER on Sunday Carlisle was almost certain that Bella would never want to hear from him again. Not even to cancel their lunch plans on Friday; and on that Monday, for the first time in as long as he could remember, he called out of work. He was sick, but worry not, he'd be back for his work week on the very next day and make up his missed day that Thursday. The worst part about that day though, was that it was only Monday, and it sucked, as Monday's always do. He looked at the clock in his office and found himself growing impatient with how slow it seemed to move, even slower than if he had dragged his ass to work and attempted to focus his mind on a million other things.

He couldn't stand another minute surrounded by the four walls so he got up and left the house deciding that maybe it was time for a hunt and a good time to just run it out of his system. He didn't think of any place in particular, he just let some of his natural instincts take over and he just ran following the wind. He wasn't surprised though when he looked up and found himself at his old house in Forks. It was quiet, no one around to make a sound and it seemed dull in comparison to how it used to look when they all lived there. There wasn't any warm welcoming light shining through the many windows. No piano being played in greeting. No childish bickering from his children. Just silence.

He walked up the steps and in through the front door taking in the sight of the covered up furniture and the dusty photographs on the walls. So many memories had been made here. He moved around the house like a ghost. He was kind of like the things they had left behind. Replaceable and easily forgotten. He made his way up the stairs and to the old room him and Esme used to share and looked at the big portrait hanging over their bed. They both looked so in love, as if they were going to last for the eternity that they got to live. It was the gift he had given her on the fiftieth anniversary, and now, now it was just a memory of what once was love that then turned into nothing but lies and deception.

He jumped up on the bed and walked up to it softly touching the frame that it was being held in before pulling it down and tossing it at the mirror on the armoire on the other side of the room. He let out a loud kind of growl and picked it back up, beating it against the wall creating holes and shattering the frame to pieces. It just wasn't satisfying enough. He ripped the picture to bits, tearing up every last piece of the fabric it had been painted on. Throwing the frame through a window and tossing out the little bits almost like they were ashes to be scattered. Yet, somehow, it still wasn't enough and so he went around the house and grabbed every photo of the two of them destroying them. Shattering them.

He was so lost in his rage he didn't hear his cell phone ringing and he kept tearing through everything. Wedding pictures. Graduation pictures. Pictures that he felt like they had taken a hundred times over. Him, that sad sap in love with a woman who wanted nothing more from him than his name and his wealth. He heard a small little beep, the tone of a waiting voicemail set to go off every few minutes or so. He had finally settled on the floor in the middle of a torn up house looking at the chaos he had caused. He had destroyed almost everything in his path and he wasn't sure if he would clean it up and just leave it to rot. He picked up his phone and called back his voicemail.

"Hey Carlisle, it's Bella. I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I didn't mean to be stubborn like that, or maybe I did, but I didn't mean to be disrespectful in any way. I'm just not used to having someone around to be concerned over me like that. Sure, I mean, my mom tries, but there's only so much she can do from the other side of the country. Anyway, I took those two days off and I wanted to know if we were still good for Friday. Call me when you get a free moment."

Bella. He stood up and looked around at the mess and pulled his wedding band from inside of his pocket. Maybe she was more right than he gave her credit for. You never forget or completely get over your first love, but he was going to take a step forward in putting her in the past. He dropped the ring among the wreckage and walked out the door.

He ran to Bella's house, hoping that she'd be home and he must've gotten lucky because just as he was about to knock on the door she was getting ready to walk out. "Carlisle? What are you doing here?"

He tossed her a smile and shrugged. "I was in town, got your voicemail, figured I could stop by and make sure you were doing alright. You don't mind, do you?"

She rolled her eyes at him and stepped back into her house. "Of course not. Come in."


	9. House Call

A/N: Yeah, I know, it's been a good bit since I've updated, I am so sorry, but sometimes life gets us and they get us good. But I am back and here is another new chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the world created by the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.

Bella hung up the phone and placed it back on the counter next to the doctors note that she knew she would have to turn in when she went back to work. She had called in early that morning to the Lt on the other rotation and explained what had happened and that she wouldn't be coming in to work her off day. She hated to do it because it also left her with a whole week off and it made her nervous. A whole week out of work. She wasn't entirely sure what to do with herself.

She looked around the kitchen and sighed. She could clean the already clean house, but then what. She looked at her watch and ran a hand through her hair. This was so frustrating. How did people take a whole week away from work? She moved to the living room and then made her way up the stairs and into her room. She looked at the small pile of laundry and sighed moving to scoop it up into her arms. Her rumpled uniforms from the past few days needed to go to the cleaners so she could start there. As for everything else she deposited it into the washer.

She shoved the uniforms into a laundry bag scooped up her phone, keys, and wallet and moved to head out the door. Standing in front of her, fist raised to knock was Carlisle. "Carlisle? What are you doing here?"

He smiled and shrugged, "I was in town, got your voicemail, figured I could stop by and make sure you were doing alright. You don't mind, do you?"

She rolled her eyes and took a couple steps back into the entrance. "Of course not. Come in." He walked by her and she closed the door following him into the kitchen, setting her bag of laundry on the floor next to the table. She gestured to the one chair. "You can have it."

Carlisle cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow, "I'll refraining from commenting on the fact that you only have one chair in the kitchen and instead take a moment to remind you that I don't need it."

Bella blushed a bit at the subtle reminder that he wasn't an ordinary human and shuffled from side to side before taking the table as her chair. "Well, I can sit where I eat and it not bother me." She rolled her eyes. "Plus I _thought_ I was being a courteous host by offering you the only available seat in my kitchen."

"Want to explain what happened to the other chair that was here not too long ago?" She bit her lip and shrugged. "Come on, Bella. Out with it."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I broke it, on accident. A couple days ago."

Carlisle chuckled, shook his head, and settled on the table next to her. "But I too can sit on the table, if you allow it, and you've been courteous enough by just letting me in while interrupting what appeared to be you attempt to leave the house today." Silence stretched between the two, Bella not exactly sure where to go from there. "I'm sorry for intruding," Carlisle said rocking to bump his shoulder up against hers. "Next time I'll warn you before I just make an appearance."

"No, it's fine really," she said shrugging indifferently. "I thought you were at work and wouldn't get the voicemail until later." He laughed softly and she raised an eyebrow at him. "What's so funny?"

"I thought you'd be at work today as well," he said swinging his legs. She wondered whether it was just to keep up a human like appearance for her sake of if it was an ingrained forced habit at being human. "Why did you decided to stay home, Bella?"

"Well, it wasn't just your outburst that made me consider it," she said rolling her eyes. "So don't go feeling all cocky like you accomplished mission impossible or something.

"I truly am sorry about that. I didn't mean to imply you never listen, I was just-"

"Yeah, I know," she said cutting him off with a wave of her hand, "you want me safe. Everyone does."

Carlisle chuckled softly, "Guilty."

"No, it's more than that." She said laughing. "My mom had said something about me taking time off the night before. She said something like, Charlie wouldn't want me working myself to death. I gave it a few seconds of thought after you made a mad dash out of my curtained holding cell and figured, two days couldn't hurt right?"

He shrugged, "Never know until you take the time off. So what was the plan for today?"

"Before or after I got interrupted by my doctor?"

"Whichever," he said laughing at her.

She nodded towards the discarded laundry bag of uniforms. "I figured I'd take a day trip to Portland or something and drop those off to be properly pressed for once. I have an ironing board and iron here, but they could actually use a good press by people who could properly get the creases to stay. Mine fade by the afternoon."

"Mind if I tag along?"


End file.
